WOES OF LIVING WITHIN THE Rs.32 CAPBy- Ursila Ali

The Planning Commission of India has estimated the number of poor at 40.47 crores. A person is classified poor if he/she comes under the poverty line, commonly called the BPL category. With an increasing unemployment rate, not to mention the growing inflation and the never ceasing scams which have increased public distrust in the establishment, these statistics are only increasing day by day.

What the planning commission has come up with recently is a curious measurement of poverty and those who can be placed below the poverty line. Anybody earning less than Rs. 32 a day in urban areas and less than Rs. 27 in rural areas can be termed poor. The planning commission arrived at this estimate after measuring the June 2011 price level. For a family of five, the provisional poverty line would amount to Rs. 4,824 per month in urban areas and Rs. 3,905 per month in the rural areas.

The affidavit released in the Supreme Court has created a furore all over India with people, institutions and NGOs asking for the affidavit to be revised. What Mr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, the head of the Planning Commission, forgot is that we aren't living in the 'Baap - ke- Zamaane- ke- daam era' anymore. If one decides to go out with 32 rupees in ones pocket, he/she would not even be able to afford 3 decent meals a day, let alone feed an entire family of five. The reality today is that a kilogram of tomatoes, an essential ingredient in many Indian dishes, costs rupees 30. The staple diet of all Indians, one kilogram of onions and potatoes cost Rs. 25 and Rs. 20 a kg respectively. When the food bill takes away a large chunk of the budget, where is the scope of fulfilling other needs? The affidavit thus seems to crush the aspirations of the average Indian to rise from the realms of poverty and hope for a brighter future.

As much as it has caused widespread anger, the affidavit has also been mocked widely over the web, in newsrooms and daily publications. The common man does think of it as a cruel joke, accusing government of making life even more troublesome in the wake of inflation. Yet the planning Commission does not find it ridiculous at all! It has however, amidst all the flak, agreed to revise the affidavit. A suggestion by many is that the policy makers should perhaps spend a day trying to live on the 32 rupees to get a sense of discontent amongst the masses. What the common man does learn from such an ordeal is that he stands alone in his trials and tribulations with poverty becoming a way of life and each year the gap between the rich and poor growing. The country may boast of accelerated development and growth; however its true identifier is the happiness index of its people.